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OzRob
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OzRob

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1 Mar 2013
We need death metal goats. Any clued up vid producers want to goatify some screamo songs? They're so crying out to be done :-)

The best:

9 Nov 2012
Hey guys and gals,

Being a (largely) metal oriented forum, it's not unexpected to see people adding disclaimers or apologising for liking music that may seem anathema to the metal community. Here's a great read from Thomas Bergersen about embracing diversity. You may not know his name but trust me, you've heard his music if you've watched any major trailers. He's one half of the brilliant Two Steps From Hell.

Anyways, read, think, enjoy. smile.gif

---------------


"I just wanted to say a few things on dubstep, as some people seem to focus on it, not as the musical device that it is, but rather its status in our culture and society. People identify themselves through music, and express themselves through their taste in music. Sometimes people get so caught up in the attributions of genres that they forget what music is about in the first place. They limit themselves to certain styles because their mind is not free. Music can and should be enjoyed across all genres, regardless of social value, political statement, mainstream success, stigma and so on, because great talent is to be found in every aspect of art, from the popular to the most obscure and unknown.

Dubstep has a perceived low social value because of widespread misconceptions, ignorance and bitterness. Bitterness from the UK and surrounding cultures because the US dubstep variant, Brostep, by proxy of the masterful producer Skrillex became an overnight phenomenon that completely overshadowed a decade or so of dubstep history from the country and followers of origin. Ignorance, because people do not understand the considerable talent and work that goes into high quality music of any genre, and finally misconceptions because people think dubstep is written exclusively by teenagers with laptops, no musical education or comprehension of simple musical concepts and theory.

Classical music, contemporary and traditional is considered "sophisticated", "academic", "intelligent" and so on, because the ignorant consensus is that it "obviously requires a much greater mind and skillset to write music for something as complex as an orchestra". Thus, so-called "elitist" and "purist" followers of classical/orchestral music are born, and they, like every other culturally selective group in society stick together to spread the message that the music and art that they identify themselves by is vastly superior to that which the unwashed masses enjoy, such as Justin Bieber and Skrillex.

As someone who has written music for orchestras, choirs, metal bands, trance, country, bubblegum pop, hollywood movies and tv jingles I can assure you that neither musical genre is more sophisticated, intelligent or difficult to do than another. I feel compelled to address the gross ignorance that is displayed increasingly frequent when people trash great pop acts of our time such as Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and so on. The collective talent, musicianship, intelligence and hard work behind these acts is unparalleled. There is a reason why these people are popular, and it's not the image or look that they carry. The music may not be to your taste, but be honest with yourself and man enough to admit that the reason you don't listen to Justin Bieber or Lady Gaga is because of its perceived social stigma, your own ego and/or your views on manufactured talent packages.

I myself choose to keep an open mind and never ever mix music and art with politics or as a social affiliation and identification factor. Wherever great men pave new road, greater minds will follow, and the collective great minds will eventually reach the limits of what we are intellectually capable of, only to carry this knowledge forth into new fields of discovery. The principle of evolution is as sound in the context of music as in the context of nature. Do you follow the herd or is your mind free? Think about it. Do you identify yourself through music? Do you hide behind it or do you actually choose to be free and embrace everything without prejudice? Life is so rich and full of beauty, and art is truly limitless, so why limit ourselves to the sheep mentality in our appreciation of it? Embrace without prejudice and cultivate that which resonates within you, not what resonates with others."




Ps. I will add I don't think the kind of behaviour that inspired TB to write is evident on this board, but I do note people apologising for liking certain kinds of music. We shouldn't have to apologise or add disclaimers. If music of any kind touches us, inspires us, makes us happy or whatever, that's a good thing and should be celebrated. :-)
25 Feb 2012
Tony originally pointed me towards this company's limiter, which I demoed and bought, later adding their compressor to my toolbox. More recently, I've spent time demoing Syrah (adapative creative dynamics processor), Epure (parametric EQ), Solera (broadband dynamics processor) and Alchemist (multiband version of Solera). The demo versions don't have time expiry, don't require an iLok, but also are missing important features such as the ability to save settings, automate settings and stop being adjustable after 30 minutes of use.

Some features which set them apart from the competition are:
1) the use of A/B recalled presets with a morph slider that allows one to easily test two different settings, or slide between the two to find a new compromise setting. This slider is automatable
2) Hysteresis - a Flux innovation that allows the dynamics processing to operate on the input signal level rather than the threshold level. Normally, when a signal level drops below the threshold setting the dynamics processing ceases. Hysteresis allows the processing to be relative rather than absolute. I find it difficult to describe but playing with the knobs shows the difference
3) Angel's Share - another Flux innovation which "produces a slightly less compressed and more open sound by relaxing the compression ratio applied when the dynamic range rises." (SOS review excerpt).

In terms of quality and innovation they are on the top shelf. The main downsides are the price of the more complex tools (though worth every dollar) and the use of iLok for product security (an additional cost and clunky form of anti-piracy). Flux do sell their own security dongle so an iLok is not strictly necessary but a number of other high-profile companies (Waves, EWQL) currently use iLok as well, so it's more widely useful.

They market themselves as mastering grade tools, and I think Tony would testify to them being among the best for software solutions (though not of course in competition with high quality hardware). If you are in the market for excellent dynamics processors do yourself a favour and test drive Flux.

They also provide two very useful plugs for free - a stereo tool and a transient shaper. If nothing else, download these two and add them to your toolbox.

http://www.fluxhome.com/products/

Reviews in Sound On Sound:
Solera, Epure, Limiter, Compressor, Expander, DeExpander
Alchemist
Syrah
Last Visitors


21 Feb 2013 - 12:49


13 Feb 2013 - 16:14


9 Nov 2012 - 17:03


7 Oct 2012 - 8:33


29 Jul 2012 - 19:29

Comments
OzRob
No worries mate. Any questions, just add 'em to that thread and I'll answer if I can. Otherwise the Mixcraft guys are very helpful if you put questions on their forum.
11 Apr 2010 - 3:58
chaostar
Hey thanks for helping me out the Mixcaft topic! I appreciate it! :)
10 Apr 2010 - 22:54

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